Pants reversing device



Jan. 10, 19390 7 o. L. KIRKLAND ET AL 2,143,244

PANTS REVERSING DEVICE Filed July 2, 1937 Inventors a O.L.Ki1 'kland F.S.Dygard attorney Patented Jan. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PANTS REVERSING DEVICE Application July 2, 1937, Serial No. 151,676

7 Claims.

This invention relates to the tailoring art or clothing industry and more particularly to pants. It is an object of the invention to provide a device by the employment of which the inside surfaces of each leg of a pair of pants may be simultaneously and expeditiously reversed or turnedoutwa-rdly during repair, inspection, initial manufacture of said pants or cleaning and pressing operations applied subsequently thereto, said device being of few and simple parts, easy of operation and of economical manufacture, and also to provide a device which may be utilized for turning a single leg of apair of pants at desired times,

Other and further objects of the invention will be understood from the following detailed description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the new device secured to a rigid support.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of a loop arm or detent hook employed and illustrating a pants leg in two different positions by means of dotted lines.

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the device illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary end elevation of the device shown in Figure 4.

As heretofore practiced in the art, in order to turn a pair of pants inside out at desired times, the same has been consummated by an operator inserting his arm through the legs of said pants, one at a time, and grasping the cuff or that free end of a pants leg which is oppositely disposed from the crotch end of said leg, gripping his fingers about said cuff end and drawing said end inwardly through said leg and crotch, while he holds the waist band or other portion of said pants in his other hand, and upon one leg being reversed he then similarly reverses the other leg of said pants, the operation consuming time and labor, being especially costly where the higher priced mechanics such as a cutting and fitting tailors time is employed therefor. In large factories, and in the alteration department of large retail clothing stores and in cleaning establishments which handle and desire to reverse a large number of pants legs during a business day operators are frequently employed especially for said purpose, and it has been found during actual operation of the invention in the alteration department of a moderate sized retail clothing establishment that all of said pant leg reversing operators may be dispensed with, with the exception of one, especially employed for operating the new device, and it is an object of the present invention to obviate the undesired prior practices.

Referring now to the drawing for a more particular description Ill indicates a table top or analogous rigid foundation, to which is secured by any suitable means such as the rivets or screws H the new device.

Preferably portions of the new device are formed of pipe fittings as shown in the drawing and may include oppositely disposed and Vertically disposed standards I2, having at the lower end thereof floor flanges l3 which receive the rivets H. The upper ends of the standards l2 are provided with four-way Ts l4 having a horizontal bar IE or pipe disposed therebetween and a yoke l6 for holding the elongated arms I! side by side in a preselected position and preferably in parallelism with and spaced from the support l0 as well as spaced from each other.

The outer ends [8 of the arms I! carry loop portions [9 which are curved over to provide ends 20 disposed toward the supporting standard .25 12 or secured ends 2| of the arms IT, said loops function as detent hooks for purposes later described.

The free ends 2|] of the loops may be flared transversely and provided with substantially spade-shaped terminal ends 22, the free terminal edges 23 thereof being inclined with respect to each other, as best shown in Figures 4 and 5 for purposes later explained.

Preferably the arms I! are of tubular con struction and receive therein ends of the loops is, said ends being secured by the rivets 24 in instances when the loops l9 and arms 11 are not formed integral and it will be understood that if desired said loops, arms and supports such as 40 the standards I2 may be cast integrally.

A pair of conventional pants or trousers are illustrated by the dotted lines 25 in the several figures of the drawing, said pants having a waist band portion 26, a crotch portion 21, hip pockets 28, pants legs 29 extending from the crotch 21 to the cuff 30 or free ends of said legs, the latter being the ends which are opposite with respect to the crotch end, and in operation in order to turn the inside surfaces of said pants or the legs thereof outwardly for the inspection of the seams, repairs or analogous utilitarian purposes, the waist band is passed over said hooks or detents toward said support or towards the ends of the arms I! which are secured to the support or standard 2 for disposing the legs of said pants about respective arms I! with the crotch 2? between said arms. The pants are moved rapidly towards said support until the cuffs or free ends 39 of each leg fall off of the hooks into the position shown by dotted lines in Figures 1 and 2. The waist band of the pants to be reversed or turned inside outwardly is moved to the dotted line position thereof as shown in Figure 3 and in the direction of the arrow 3!, to dispose said band to encircle the outer ends IQ of the arms H and the ends 28 of the said loop portions [9 or the terminal ends 22 of the latter, the cuffs 39 of the legs at this time abutting the loops i9, the legs of the pants collapsing as shown by the dotted lines at the left side of said loops as in Figure 3. The waist band is then moved further in the direction of the arrow 3!, said band being turned over the said ends 23, the adjacent portions of the pants abutting against said edges 23, the cuffs at this time remaining against the loops H9. The band is then moved. further in the direction of the arrow 3!, causing the pants to be turned inside out as shown by the dotted lines thereof at the right side of Figure 3 wherein the hip pocket 28 is, as there illustrated, turned inwardly or" the pants.

During the movement or return movement of the waist band towards the hooks the cuff ends of each pants leg become engaged against the loops IE or hooks in the position shown in Figure 3, said hooks cooperatingly engage said legs, while the waist band is moved past said hooks and this part of the operation is facilitated if the front buttons of the waist band are disengaged from their button holes, and it will be noted that when the pants are moved in the direction of the arrow 3i, that the inside surfaces of said pants are turned outwardly whereby suspended pocket portions or walls may be readily inspected for holes and like purposes, together with inspecting the seams or inner and outer seams of each pant leg to note if any stitches have been dropped during sewing of said seams.

In instances where the hip pockets 28 are not provided with buttoned flaps such as the flaps 32, the detents or hooks may be provided with the flared spade-shaped portions 22 thereof, since said hooks will not then thereby engage in or catch in the Walls of the pockets 28, the inclined flared portions 22 being preferably employed for universal purposes now to be described.

Referring to Figure 4, the free terminal edges 23 of the flared portions 22 are inclined with respect to each other which facilitates movement of the pants towards the support as above described. The said inclination of the flared portions 22 is such that the edges 23 thereof are inclined at an angle with respect to the pockets 28 at the time the latter are moved over the flared portions 22 which prevents said flared portions from becoming lodged or caught in the pockets whereby the operator may rapidly reverse the pants without an extra operation of freeing a said portion 22 from a pocket.

For certain purposes during the manufacture of a pair of pants, it is desirable to turn the individual legs thereof inside out for an inspection of the seams prior to the time when said legs are sewn together at the crotch and waist band and for said purpose but one arm is employed, said arm being elongated sufficiently to receive a pant leg thereon about said arm, the latter being provided with a detent or hook portion at one end. The end of said arm opposite to said detent being secured to a rigid support for cooperation during a movement of the crotch portion of said pant leg away from said support and receiving arm and past said detent for reversing the position of the inside surfaces of said leg with respect to the outside surfaces thereof.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A pants reversing device comprising a support, a pair of arms secured tosaid support, said arms being disposed in side by side spaced apart relation for receiving the crotch of said pants therebetween and the legs thereof encircling respective arms, the ends of said arms having loop portions curved over to abut the ends of said legs opposite to said crotch for preventing removal of said legs in alignment with said arms, said loop portions having flared terminal ends adapted to cooperatingly engage said pants during removal of said legs from said arms past said loop portions for turning the inside surface of the legs outward, the surfaces of said flared ends being disposed in inclined relation with respect to each other for preventing said ends from entering pockets of said pants during said surface turning operation.

2. A pants reversing device comprising a support, a pair of arms secured to said support, said arms being disposed in side by side spaced apart n relation for receiving the crotch of said pants therebetween with the legs of the pants encircling respective arms, the ends of said arms having loop portions curved over to abut the ends of said legs opposite to said crotch for preventing removal of said legs in alignment with said arms, said p portions having enlarged terminal ends adapted to cooperatingly engage said pants during removal of said legs from said arms past said loop portions for turning the inside surfaces of the legs outward, the surfaces of said enlarged ends which are opposite to the main body portions of said arms being inclined toward each other for preventing said ends from engaging in the pockets of said pants during the pants leg turning operation.

3. In a device of the class described, a support, a pair of spaced apart arms mounted side by side on said support, and a pair of hooks mounted on said arms having ends disposed toward said support, said ends having flared portions transversely disposed with respect to said ends, said flared portions being inclined with respect to each other.

4. In a device of the class described a support, a pair of spaced apart arms mounted side by side on said support, and a pair of hooks mounted on said arms having free ends disposed towards said support, said ends having enlarged surfaces which are inclined toward each other.

5. In a pants reversing device, a pair of hooks having arms extending beyond the terminal ends of the hooks, said hooks being spaced apart for passage of the crotch of said pants therebetween and inclined towards one another, said arms adapted to extend through respective legs of said pants free of said hooks, and disposed side by side for disposing said crotch between said arms, and supporting means for maintaining the orientation of said arms and hooks.

6. In a pants leg reversing device, elongated means for receiving said leg about said means, means associated with said receiver for holding the end of said leg which is opposite to the crotch of said pants, a support engaging the floor, a standard rising from one end of said support and connected with the first named means near one end thereof leaving the other end and the major portion of said receiving means free for the engagement thereover of the trousers, said support being elongated and extending in the same direction as said receiving means and out substantially to a position spaced below said holding means whereby to sustain weights at the holding means and to prevent tipping of the device.

7. In a device of the character described, an

elongated arm for receiving a pants leg about said arm, a detent carried by said arm for holding the end portion of said leg which is opposite to the crotch portion of said pants, a stationary support adapted to lie upon the floor and being elongated in the direction of elongation of said arm and adapted to extend at its free end substantially beneath said detent, the elongated arm and detent being spaced substantially above said support and lying substantially parallel and horizontal therewith, and means at one end portion only of said support and elongated arm for supporting said arm in spaced position above said support.

OLIVER L. KIRKLAND.

FRED S. DYGARD. 

